The Practical English Syllabus - Conversations

Year III,Term I

2017/2018

The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Institute of English Studies

The Practical English Subject Coordinator:

mgr Izabela Batyra

Office Hours:

Friday: 10.50 – 12.30, C-627

Course info

The basic requirements for the course:

Active participation (thinking, asking relevant questions) will be rewarded and will contribute to your final grade

A few homework assignments

You are allowed to have two unexcused absences, if you exceed this limit, you will have to bring a doctor’s certificate

The Course Content

  1. Class 1
Introduction
Warm-up
Psychology: Emotional Intelligence IQ
  1. Class 2
Warm-up
Nonverbal Acts of Communication
  1. Class 3
Warm-up
Procrastination
  1. Class 4
Warm-up
Exam practice
  1. Class 5
Warm-up
Education
  1. Class 6
Warm-up
Exam practice
  1. Class 7
Warm-up
Neuropsychology: Brain and Memory
  1. Class 8
Warm-up
Exam practice
  1. Class 9
Signatures
In-class practice:
Each class starts with a warm-up activity which is supposed to introduce the students into the topic discussed within a single meeting. The lead-in part lasts approximately 15 – 20 minutes and comprises a few debatableand informative issues concerning the topic.
Next, the students discuss the topics in pairs, each pair is given a different topic devoted to the same theme raised in a single class.The students learn the topics in the class, not before the class. The students discuss their topics (usually in the form of statements) in closed pairs for about ten to fifteen minutes. The students within each pair are supposed to come up with conflicting arguments supported by various examples so that one student speaks in favour of the statement and the other is against it. If there is no conflict, there is nothing or little to debate about. In this way, the students kill two birds with one stone, that is they develop their linguistic competence as well as learn how to be successful mediators and moderators in a conversation in the target language. Finally, when the arguments and questions are ready, the students work in open pairs. A few pairs (usually 4) demonstrate their arguments in the class.Finally, the students give feedback on their colleagues’ performance paying attention to lexical and grammatical accuracy, fluency as well as the content of the presentation.
Exam Practice:
The students work in pairs or groups of three if necessary. Each pair is given a different topicbefore the exam practice meeting, devoted to the themes discussed so far. The task is to prepare a 10-minute presentation where conflicting as well as informative ideas concerning a given topic are presented to the class. Eventually, the students are given feedback on their performance.
Final Practical English Exam = Exam Practice